Foxconn smartgear unit IPO seeks to break financial addiction to Apple's iPhone
Foxconn is aiming at a $4.3 billion initial public offering for Foxconn Industrial Internet, a manufacturing arm specializing in things like servers and IoT accessories.
Despite nominally strong performance, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou has reportedly complained that the iPhone X didn’t meet high expectations, according to Bloomberg. The publication observed that Foxconn’s market value has plummeted by over $20 billion since June 2017.
“Foreign institutional investors have linked the performance of our shares to that of Apple’s,” Gou said at a January shareholders meeting. Apple “didn’t do well in December,” he continued, noting that Foxconn wants its non-Apple businesses to take up a larger portion of sales.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has indicated that the iPhone X has remained the top-selling iPhone model each week since its November 2017 launch. Both Apple and Foxconn may have been hoping for a runaway hit though, something less likely given shrinking smartphone markets.
The phone’s $999-plus pricetag has likely been an obstacle for many shoppers, but Apple could remedy that with this fall’s iPhones. The company is believed to be preparing three models: 5.8- and 6.5-inch OLED devices, and a 6.1-inch LCD product. Both the 5.8- and 6.1-inch phones could slot below the $999 mark.